Numerical simulation of the regenerative cooling tubes in the 15-K Fastrac rocket engine

This thesis presents a detailed CFD model of the cooling tubes for a prototype regeneratively cooled Fastrac rocket engine. A 15-K test stand configuration was modeled. The objective of the CFD study was to determine the pressure drop and the temperature rise in the RP-1 coolant. The CFD predictions were also used to verify an analytical model. Varying thermal properties for the RP-1 were developed in terms of polynomials from a data set provided by NASA. Polynomial curve fits were also developed for the copper tubing thermal properties. The heat transfer simulations included the most severe case of a 616.48-K wall temperature to check for the maximum temperature rise and pressure drop. Another simulation was made with no heat flux across the tube walls. Results show that pressure drop is minimally affected by heat transfer and also give confidence in the analytical model.